256 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



November, 1912. 



Packing High Grade King Apples in the Orchard of R. R. Sloan, Porter's Hill, Huron Co., Ont. 



unstretchable or as near as it is possible 

 to obtain that quality. A woven wire, 

 composed of several strands of seventeen 

 to nineteen gauge steel wire is recom- 

 mended. It is also easy to attach the 

 marks to this wire. A wire five hundred 

 feet long is used and is marked by at- 

 taching a small piece of copper wire 

 through the strands to mark the location 

 of the trees. The wire is first stretched 

 parallel to the first fence and the stakes 

 are placed along it where the outside row 

 is to go. The same is done parallel to 

 the fence at right angles to the first and 

 so on around the field, providing the 

 ends and side fences of the field are 

 parallel to each other. 



A row is then staked across the centre 

 of the field in the same manner to act 

 as checks to accuracy. We then have 

 three rows of stakes across the field one 

 way and two the other way. Now stretch 

 the wire at right angles to the three rows 

 of stakes and proceed to plant the trees 

 at each mark on the wire. In order to 

 make the wire taut and secure, an anchor 

 stake is used at each end and a block 

 and tackle at one end to stretch it. The 

 work of planting may now proceed across 



the field one row at a time, and each 

 tree will come exactly in its place without 

 any special effort of sighting by the 

 planter. The wire should be remeasured 

 after planting ten or twelve acres and 

 any inaccuracies due to stretching cor- 

 rected, which may be easily done with 

 the movable marks. 



Handling the Apple Crop 



R. R. Sloan, Porter's Hill, Ont. 



We use baskets, for picking apples and 

 find them more satisfactory than sacks, 

 as the fruit is more subject to being 

 bruised when sacks are used. 



The fruit is packed in the orchard. It 

 is brought from the trees and placed on 

 a canvas bottomed sorting table and 

 packed into barrels, which are drawn di- 

 rect to the station. We have always 

 plenty of fruit picked ahead and taken in- 

 side for wet days, so as to keep the men 

 busy. 



SELLING THE CROP 



We have disposed of our fruit in 

 different ways, often selling to a buyer, 

 sometimes on the trees, but usually we 

 prefer to pick our own fruit. We have 



consigned some shipments direct to the 

 Old Country markets, have sold f.o.b. 

 at our station and sometimes have ship- 

 ped to the west. Having a large plan- 

 tation we do not sell cooperatively, but 

 it is the only way for the small grower 

 to get the best returns for the crop. 



So far, I have had the best results 

 from selling my crop by the barrel in the 

 orchard. The seller must be governed 

 entirely by the condition of the markets, 

 ;md the man he .sells to, or he may not 

 realize as much for his crop as by ship- 

 ping it him.self direct to the west or to 

 a foreign market. I intend in future 

 years, as the plantation becomes older 

 and bears more fruit, to pack and ship 

 the fruit direct to (or as nearly as we 

 can) the consumer, and thus eliminate 

 .some of the middlemen. 



Notes by Fruit Growers 



The apple is an asset financially, mor- 

 ally, and politically. 



Prune out twigs on which are the eggs 

 of plant lice, tent caterpillar, buffalo 

 laffer or other insects. 



I am thinning out my apple trees from 

 the top and Ir-aving iho.se limbs in the 

 centre of the tree that are usually remov- 

 ed. I find that my trees are bearing a 

 good crop throughout the tree and not on 

 the outside, which is usually the case 

 with apples. — J. O. Duke, Ruthven, Ont. 



In pruning peach trees as well as in 

 pruning any other fruit, it is necessary 

 for best results that the operator have 

 .some knowledge of the variety, as some 

 sorts require far more cutting than oth- 

 ers. Such varieties as Barnard, Cros- 

 by, Golden Drop and others of similar 

 habits require heavy pruning while those 

 of the Crawford type require far less. — 

 T. L. Hilborn, Leamington, Ont. 



Greater skill in packing the fruit, and 

 above all, more attention to the stowage 

 of the packages in the cars, to secure 

 rigidity during a long journey, and at 

 the same tmie to allow for a free circula- 

 tion of air among the packages, are quite 

 as important as cold storage or cooling 

 facilities. Unless these things are care- 

 fully attended to, any expenditure for 

 pre-coolin<,r purposes will be very largely 

 wasted.— J. A. Ruddick, Fruit and Cold 

 storage Commissioner, Ottawa, Ont. 



I was the pioneer in the pure fruit busi- 

 ness in Ontario. At the time I started 

 Ihe jam factories were making compound 

 jams out of everything except pure fruit, 

 but since I have started making pure 

 fruit jam other factories have been forced 

 to follow my lead and use pure fruits. 

 During the past season I have manufac- 

 tured two million pounds of pure fruit 

 jam, thus providing a steady market. I 

 bought 15,000 cases of strawberries, 10,- 

 000 cases of raspberries, as well as simi- 

 lar amounts of other fruits.— E. D. 

 Smith, Winona, Ont. 



